Ten apartments and 18 beds for hospitality. In just over a year, Olbia's former barracks have been transformed from an area in need of redevelopment into a new space dedicated to living, culture, and university life. A project that combines historic preservation, urban regeneration, and new opportunities for the city. Today, an informal presentation marked a new milestone in the complex's rebirth, returned to the city thanks to the efforts of Iolao Srls, led by Cristina Dessole and Lidia Sanna.
Commitment, passion, and elbow grease are the ingredients of a challenge born from the dream of reopening an abandoned space and giving it a new purpose. "We faced a situation requiring complete renovation, and in a year, we managed to reclaim part of the complex and win a National Research Council (NRRP) project for university housing," Dessole recalled. "This result was achieved through constant dialogue with the relevant authorities and respecting the complex's constraints: the spaces and windows were left untouched, while the remodeling of the rooms allowed the work to be completed in compliance with the regulations." The concrete result is the arrival of the first students, of Ethiopian and Indian nationality, enrolled in the Business Administration program, who starting tomorrow will occupy two of the six beds made available through an agreement with ERSU, the regional agency for the right to university education. At the presentation, Pietro Arrica, head of Sassari Territorial Services (State Property Agency), and Daniele Maoddi, president of ERSU Sassari, expressed his appreciation for the path undertaken by Lidia Sanna and Cristina Dessole. "I'm very pleased to be here and I congratulate the promoters, because from the very first moment I saw how much they believed in their dream," said Maoddi.
We have signed an agreement for six of the twenty beds envisaged in the reference offer. As ERSU, we provide services for students of the University of Sassari, which offers important courses in Olbia. We embrace Lidia and Cristina's vision: the former Casermette have become a microcosm of identity, a cultural hub in the heart of the city. From Open Monuments to exhibitions, from cinema to cultural events, to Art Day with students from the Art High School, the complex has gradually regained a public dimension. Among the most recent innovations is the opening of the literary café, designed as a meeting and support space for students, but also as a place where citizens can gather. Sanna, in thanking those who supported the project, gave special recognition to Fidapa, Pro Loco, and Cineclub Olbia, as well as to the group of friends of the "Casermatte," a network that has grown over time and become an active part of the area's redevelopment and redevelopment.
